New Guinea Flightless Rail / Megacrex inepta
WBN 
New Guinea Flightless Rail
SCI Name:
Protonym: Megacrex inepta Ann.Mus.Civ.Stor.Nat.Genova 14 p.130
Taxonomy: Gruiformes / Rallidae / Megacrex
Taxonomy Code: ngfrai1
Type Locality: Fly River, New Guinea.
Author: D''Albertis & Salvadori
Publish Year: 1879
IUCN Status: Least Concern
DEFINITIONS
MEGACREX
(Rallidae; Ϯ New Guinea Flightless Rail M. inepta) Gr. μεγας megas great; genus Crex Bechstein, 1803, crake; "Nov. gen. MEGACREX ex familia RALLIDARUM praebet rostrum mediocre, culmine ad frontem lato et in scutum postice rotundatum, fere ut in genere GALLINULA, desinente; pedes longiusculos, robustos ut in RALLINA TRICOLORI; alas parvas, ad volatum forsan ineptas; digitum externum alae ungue arcata praeditum; caudam brevissimam; staturam inter aves rallidas permagnam. TYPUS: Megacrex inepta, D'ALB. & SALVAD. nov. sp. ... Questo singolare uccello é uno dei più grandi dei Rallidi, e per la colorazione ricorda moltissimo alcune specie del genere americano Aramides; forse esso è realmente affine a questo genere e sarebbe così il terzo esempio, dopo l'Harpyopsis novaeGuineae, ed il Tigrisoma heliosylos, di specie della Nuova Guinea, che sembrano avere le affini a loro nell' America meridionale!" (d'Albertis & Salvadori 1879). The New Guinea Flightless Rail is a large, bulky bird, capable of protecting itself against predators by kicking and pecking.
inepta / ineptus
L. ineptus foolish, silly, absurd < in- not; aptus suitable.
● ex “Cygnus cucullatus” of Nieremberg 1635, Willughby 1676, and Ray 1713, “Dronte” of Bontius 1658, Struthio cucullatus Linnaeus, 1758, “Dodo” of Edwards 1758, and “Raphus” of Brisson 1760 (‡syn. Raphus cucullatus).
SUBSPECIES
New Guinea Flightless Rail (pallida)
SCI Name: Megacrex inepta pallida
pallida
L. pallidus pallid, pale, wan, sallow < pallere to be pale.
New Guinea Flightless Rail (inepta)
SCI Name: Megacrex inepta inepta
inepta / ineptus
L. ineptus foolish, silly, absurd < in- not; aptus suitable.
● ex “Cygnus cucullatus” of Nieremberg 1635, Willughby 1676, and Ray 1713, “Dronte” of Bontius 1658, Struthio cucullatus Linnaeus, 1758, “Dodo” of Edwards 1758, and “Raphus” of Brisson 1760 (‡syn. Raphus cucullatus).
UPPERCASE: current genus
Uppercase first letter: generic synonym
● and ● See: generic homonyms
lowercase: species and subspecies
●: early names, variants, mispellings
‡: extinct
†: type species
Gr.: ancient Greek
L.: Latin
<: derived from
syn: synonym of
/: separates historical and modern geographic names
ex: based on
TL: type locality
OD: original diagnosis (genus) or original description (species)
